The Way Things Should Be
by ebau12
Summary: Previously posted story to this website. Dom & Letty were married and got divorced. Now their married to other people and live across the country from each other. But is it really the way things should be? Set way after the first movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: The Way Things Should Be

**Author**: Ebau12 (formerly o-dubya-o, or zukuchiri)

**Rating**: M

**Summary**: Previously posted story to this website. Dom & Letty were married and got divorced. Now their married to other people and live across the country from each other. But is it really the way things should be? Set way after the first movie.

**Author Note**: This was my last work in progress before I fell out of fanfiction writing and into original fiction writing. This was also the first story of mine I read after seeing the most recent Fast and Furious movie, Fast 6, and I kind of fell back in love with it. It's been two years since I started this story, so I'm not sure if I've got any of the original readers, which will be especially hard to determine since I'm uploading this as a new story, but I don't plan on changing much… just doing some small edits. However, as always, I don't use a beta, so I do make mistakes.

_- x -_

"Letty," he whispered, pushing the door to their bedroom open. Adjusting the weight of the tray in his hands, he smiled at her sleeping form and approached slowly, making sure the bedroom door shut behind him. "Letty," he whispered slightly louder, watching her stir, "Letty, wake up. I brought you food." He smirked at her light moan at the mention of food and watched her open an eye. "I made pancakes."

"With blueberries?" She questioned, voice still rough with sleep. She opened her other eye to see him nod and she smiled happily. Rolling onto her back, she stretched with her arms over her head. She sat up and watched him sit beside her with the tray, slipping it in front of her. "Oh, baby, you're the best." She took the fork from his hand and smiled more. "Did I ever tell you that?"

"I think you may have mentioned that last night," he whispered. She smirked and started cutting her pancakes with her fork. He leaned in and kissed her temple softly and she frowned, not liking the action. "What's wrong, baby?"

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" She asked, poking a piece of pancake already cut and pushing it into her mouth hungrily.

"Plane leaves at 8, I should really be out of here within the hour." She frowned down at her pancakes and nodded a little, accepting the answer, but not really wanting to. She set the fork down beside her plate and smiled softly at him. "I should be home by the weekend. Maybe we could all go to the zoo?" He asked, not really sure.

"That sounds like a good idea. We haven't been to the zoo in ages." Letty watched her husband carefully as he took her hand in his and kissed the band on her finger. She hated when he had to leave, but she'd understood that it was just a part of his job. "You know what?" She whispered, pushing the tray off of her lap and moving it to the bedside table. "I'm not hungry for pancakes right now."

"Is that right?" he grinned as she slid out from under the sheets and straddled his lap, pushing down gently. His hands slid to the small of her back, rubbing gently, loving the feel of her silky gown under his rough fingers. Leaning in, he kissed her lips softly, pulling back before she could return the kiss, just to tease her playfully. She chuckled lightly and stared into his eyes.

"I want some of you." She leaned in to place a soft kiss at his collarbone. He had to take a deep breath to collect himself as she started a path of kisses down to the waistband of his boxers. As she pulled his boxers down just enough, he slid his eyes shut, enjoying her touch.

"Oh, Letty," he groaned softly, rocking his hips gently against her.

He froze when he heard footsteps in the hallway, but she seemed oblivious. After hearing a door close, he turned his attention back to his wife. His hands slipped to her long, dark curls and his head rolled back in ecstasy. His mouth was now gaping open and he was taking longer, deeper breaths, willing himself not to cry out.

"Letty," he moaned, rocking into her again. Deciding he'd had enough, she sat up and eyed him seductively. He smiled and moved his hands from her hair to her cheek. "You're beautiful." She chuckled softly and pushed him to the side, knocking him to his back.

Hitching her gown up to her waist, she slid herself down onto him, slowly, enjoying the feeling. She grinned and bit her bottom lip when his head went back. Leaning down, she kissed along his collarbone, grinning more as he moaned. His hands moved to her hips, guiding her up and down as she continued to kiss his neck.

"Mommy!" Both of them were so into the pleasure, neither of them heard the door open or the footsteps approach the edge of the bed. Letty looked over her shoulder quickly, and sprung apart from her husband. She looked down the bed at the wide-eyed boy, whose mouth was gaping. "Mommy?" He whimpered. She slid off the bed and made sure her gown fell down beyond her hips.

"Come on, baby." She whispered, taking his hand in hers, and pulling him gently in the direction of the door. When he didn't move, she looked down at him. "What's wrong, baby?"

"What were you guys doing?" He questioned, looking at the bed.

"Um…" Letty looked back at her husband and chuckled nervously. She wasn't sure how to handle it, and judging by his face, neither did he. "Baby, we were just messing around. We were wrestling."

"But mommy, you were winning." Letty chuckled softly and nodded, kneeling down in front of the boy.

"Mommy always wins," she whispered, looking up at her husband. "Sometimes girls like to win. Remember that." He nodded, not fully understanding the concept, but then she understood he was young. "What did you need, honey?"

"I wanted to show you something, mommy." He whispered, tugging gently on her hand. She let him lead the way to the bedroom across the hall, giving a small smile to her husband before exiting the room. "Come on." He pushed the door open and Letty blinked at the lack of light, trying to figure what he wanted to show her. "Look at it," he gasped, almost in amazement.

"What am I looking at?" She questioned, venturing further into the room. The boy moved across the room to a bed that was still occupied by another sleeper. "Oh," Letty said, quietly, after finally seeing what the boy wanted to show her. "Honey…"

"Isn't it amazing?" He questioned, reaching to poke at it. Letty smacked his hand away and he frowned up at her. "What?"

"Don't touch that," Letty muttered, reaching for a pillow. Tossing the pillow over the older, sleeping boys lap, she turned back to her son. "Don't even look, okay?" He frowned a little.

"What is it?" He whispered. She stifled a laugh and knelt down to be eye level with the young boy. She sometimes had trouble remembering he was only eight, and thought about how she should word her explanation.

"That's his penis." She said with a small nod.

"But it was so hard." He whispered, as if it was still a secret.

"I know."

"How does it get hard like that?" Letty took a deep breath and eyed him carefully.

"I think that's an explanation that needs to be saved for when you're a little older, Ty." He gave her a funny look and she took a deep breath. "Trust me, okay?" He nodded a little and looked around the dark room. "Let's get you back to bed, it's too early. You still look sleepy." He nodded and started toward his own bed. Following him, she watched him get into bed sleepily. Letty picked up his stuffed giraffe off the floor and tucked it under his arm, pulling the sheets up over him. "Get some more sleep."

"I love you mommy." He whispered as she leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"I love you too baby." She stood, and turned toward the door. Before exiting the room she stopped and took one last look at her son before heading back to her own room.

Pushing the door open to her own room, she leaned against the frame, watching her husband get dressed. Kicking the door with her toe as she entered, she walked over to him, slipping her arms around him from behind. She looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled.

"You look good," she whispered, reaching up to fix his tie.

"What did Tyler want to show you, babe?" He questioned, looking at her in the mirror. She chuckled and kissed his neck.

"Morning wood."

"What?" He asked, turning toward her. "Tyler? Already? He's eight."

"No, your son." Sighing quietly, he nodded and moved around her to his suitcase.

Sighing sadly, Letty sat on her side of the bed and moved the tray of now cold food onto her lap. She was hungry, and she loved when he cooked for her. She poked at some blueberries and pancakes and stuffed the fork into her mouth.

"What do you mean anyway?" He asked, looking at her from his suitcase.

"He's got this huge boner. Tyler was even poking at it." He chuckled and Letty shot him a serious face. "It's not funny, Chris. I don't want him traumatizing my son with his boner." After she'd said it, she realized what she said.

"Hey," He said, catching her attention and making her look up at him. "Tyler is my son too, okay?" Letty nodded a little and looked down at her food. Letty sighed and poked at her food.

"Will you at least talk to him about it?" She questioned, looking up. He frowned down at his watch and then back at her.

"It's almost 6 and I need to get out of here." Taking in the disappointed look on her face, he sighed and stopped. "I'll talk to him about it when I get back. Is that okay?" She nodded a little, but couldn't fight the frown that was now stuck on her face.

"Baby, it's the best I can do, I have to get out of here." She nodded again and watched him walk to the door. "I love you."

"I love you," she whispered back as he exited the room. After he was out of sight, she set the food aside and lay down. She hated when he had to leave on long business trips, even more so when he'd just gotten home from a month long trip to Omaha.

_- x -_

Stepping into the kitchen, Letty sighed when she saw all five boys sitting at the kitchen table. Anthony had his nose in a book, like usual. Gavin was multi-tasking, trying to finish his math homework and eat breakfast at the same time. Taking her usual seat between Anthony and an empty chair where Chris usually sat, she sighed, catching the attention of all five boys. She smiled, sleepily, at each of them and poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Are you guys ready for school?" Letty questioned looking between Gavin and Anthony. They should already be gone, but Letty knew it was her fault; she'd fallen back asleep after Chris had left.

"My Algebra teacher wants to have a meeting with my dad before school today." Letty looked up at him from her cereal.

"Gavin, why didn't you say that last night at dinner?" She questioned in irritation. "I'm sure yu were the first person to know your dad would be leaving."

"I just forgot." He stood up and walked to the sink with his bowl. "It's okay. I can just skip his class today."

"Alright boys… Let's get ready to go. You've all got to be ready to walk out that door in ten minutes. Or you're all grounded." Letty stood with her bowl and watched the boys scatter to do what they needed, except Gavin, who stayed to glare at her. "You're not skipping any classes."

"But my dad isn't here to meet with him."

"That's where I come in, Gavin. I'm not your stepmother for nothing. Go get ready." He grumbled loudly and left the kitchen. She sighed and leaned against the counter. Reaching for the phone nearby, she dialed a number and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Pat, it's Letty. I need a really big favor."

"Anything. What's up?"

"Gavin got into trouble at school and I need to go meet with one of his teachers. Chris just left for Los Angeles on business. Can I drop off the boys?"

"Yeah, no worries. Henry would be happy he has somebody to hang out with before school starts. And I'm making pancakes if they haven't eaten yet."

"I think they all had cereal, but I wouldn't be surprised if they would eat more, especially when pancakes are thrown into the mix. How about I take Henry after school today?"

"Oh, his dad is taking him out. Late birthday present or something."

"Well that's good. He always has good words about his dad. How about tomorrow?"

"That sounds good. I would really appreciate that."

"I really appreciate you taking the boys this morning. It'll help me out a lot."

"It's never a problem."

"I'll be there in about 10, okay?"

"I'll see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye." Letty hit the end button and set the phone on the counter with another sigh.

"Ready." Letty looked up at the door to see Tyler.

"Here." Letty handed him her car keys. "Go ahead and go get in the car. You, Pat and Kyle are going over to Henry's this morning before school."

"Sweet!" Letty chuckled as he jumped to head out the back door.

"Come on, guys!" Letty shouted through the house. "You've got five more minutes."

"I'm in here, mommy." Letty crossed the kitchen and leaned into the living room eyeing her youngest son. He gave her a toothless grin and she chuckled softly. He eyes shifted when she noticed bodies descending from the stairs.

"Why don't you three go outside with Tyler and wait?" Anthony smiled and the three of them started toward the front door. "Anthony, hang on a minute." He looked at her and turned toward her when his younger brothers were out of the house.

"What's up, mom?" He questioned. Letty heard the back door slam shut and rolled her eyes, figuring Gavin was mad at her – like usual.

"You're not in any trouble at school are you?" He raised a brow and she nodded. "Go on out. I'll go lock the back door." He nodded and left the house. She turned toward the kitchen and sighed at the lack of communication between her and her oldest son. She pushed the back door closed and locked it, then turned back toward the living room.

The entire ride to Gavin and Anthony's school was quiet, even when she dropped the younger three off at her friend's house. Anthony was occupied with his new book and Gavin with his headphones.

Parking her car in the lot in front of the school, she took a deep breath and started getting out of the car, followed by the boys. Glancing back at them as they headed for the main entrance, Anthony had stuffed the book in his backpack and Gavin was now putting away his iPod.

"Hey Mrs. Toretto." Letty's heart leapt in her chest as she turned to face the voice. She hadn't been called Toretto since before she and her first husband divorced. When Anthony started toward the person, she nodded, figuring that to be the reason.

"Ah, Mr. King," Letty turned to see an older teacher with an impressed look on his face, "Are you Mr. King's mother?"

"She's my step mother." Gavin snapped bluntly and quickly. He didn't want anybody to think he'd shown up at school with his mother.

"Ah, well, right this way, ma'am."

"Do I have to come?" Gavin questioned, almost rudely. Letty eyed him angrily for his rudeness, but he didn't care. This was his school. He had a reputation to keep here.

"No, go to class Mr. King. And you'd better not skip out on my class later. And your homework had better be complete as well." He nodded sarcastically with an eye roll and walked away before anybody saw. "Follow me."

She followed him into the office and down a hall to a room with a lady sitting at a nice desk.

"This is Principal Marcus. This is Gavin King's stepmother." The teacher, who hadn't properly introduced himself, exited the room quietly, pulling the door shut.

"His father couldn't make it?" She questioned looking up at Letty from the papers.

"Oh, he left on business this morning." Letty smiled a little.

"Wonderful," the lady replied, sounding less than thrilled. "Well, have a seat Mrs… um… King?"

"Yes, King. Letty King. Call me Letty, please." Letty took a seat across from the woman and eyed the folders in front of her. "So, why am I here? What's Gavin gotten himself into?"

"He's being expelled."

"What?" Letty half shouted out of confusion. It was the first she'd heard of this from anybody. "What do you mean expelled?"

"We've made several attempts to contact both you and your husband on this matter."

"Have you?" Letty questioned, having no memory of the phone ringing and it being the school. "Then why is this the first I've heard of it?"

"All the numbers you've given on emergency contact papers have been disconnected. We've tried work numbers and cell numbers. We never get any answers and our calls are never returned." Letty was now confused.

"That doesn't make any sense. You have no trouble contacting me when it comes to Anthony."

"Who?" She questioned.

"Anthony Toretto." She arched an eyebrow at Letty and she took a deep breath. "My son."

"Anthony is your son?" Letty nodded. "He talks so fondly of you." She nodded. Letty opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the school bell ringing. "Well… I really should go peruse the halls and keep an eye out for class cutters." The woman started to stand but stopped when Letty spoke.

"Excuse me?" Letty snapped quietly. "What about my stepson, I'm quite interested in why he's being expelled and how you've never managed to get a hold of us, especially me, at home, when I'm a stay at home mom the majority of the time. I've always got my cell phone on me."

"You care?"

"What do you mean 'you care'? Of course I care. He may not be my son, but I'm the only person he's had in his life as far as a mother goes. And if you'd like to go ahead and 'peruse' the halls, go right ahead, I will be sitting here when you return." If only Gavin could see her now, she thought, smirking slightly inside. Gavin no idea how hard she tried for him and how much shit she put up with for him. "You know what?" She questioned, shaking her head. "Forget it. Expel him. I don't give a shit anymore." With that, Letty stood and exited the office quickly, not really caring if the woman had anything to say about it.

"Is there anything else I can help you with this morning, ma'am?" Letty turned from her quick escape and eyed a student sitting behind a desk, who leaned back a little at her glare.

"I'm sorry. Yes, you can help me. How do I go about withdrawing my son from this school?" She questioned just as the principal was exiting the office. She stopped and looked between the two.

"His name is Anthony Toretto." The principal now sounded upset, but Letty didn't care at this moment. Gavin was her son whether it was by blood or not. She'd been raising him since he was six and it wasn't her fault he turned out the way he did. At the moment, she blamed her husband entirely.

"You just need to fill out these papers. Signing the last page pretty much says that you're going to have him in another school within two weeks." Letty nodded and reached for a pen and started filling out the papers.

_- x -_

Letty and the boys stared at each other over dinner, none of them wanting to bring up the events of the day. None of them jumped out of their seats when the phone rang. In fact, Letty cringed, already knowing whom it was. Whenever he was away on business, Chris would always call right around dinnertime. By the third ring, Letty stood from her seat, crossed the kitchen to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Letty questioned. "Hey, baby. Yeah, we're…" she looked at the boys, "…we're all doing good." The boys exchanged glances and she turned her back to them. "Baby, can you call my cell phone a little later? There's something kind of important we need to discuss."

"Mommy?" Tyler asked from the table.

"Shh…" Gavin hushed, watching his step mom carefully.

"Alright baby, I'll talk to you later." Letty smiled though she wasn't sure why. "I love you too. Bye." She dropped the phone onto the counter then headed back to the table. "What did you want baby?" Letty questioned Tyler as she took her seat at the table again.

"I just wanted to talk to daddy." He whimpered, his bottom lip quivering.

"Daddy was actually really busy, hun. He was just calling to let us know he got there safely." Tyler nodded and Gavin rolled his eyes.

"May I be excused?" Gavin questioned.

"After we're finished. You've got dish detail." Letty smirked lightly, pushing her empty plate toward him.

"What?" He questioned. "Isn't that your job?" Letty blinked over at him and Anthony coughed, watching his mom.

"I'll do the dishes, mom." Anthony offered, wanting to avoid the conflict at any cost.

"No, Gavin can do them. And for that comment, Gavin, you can do the dishes all week. No excuses."

"You can't make me do that, Letty. You aren't my mother." Letty arched a brow and Gavin stood, leaving the table. After he'd exited the kitchen, Letty looked at Anthony.

"Don't you touch those dishes, okay?" Once he nodded, she stood with her plate and deposited it into the sink. "When you guys are finished, put your dishes in the sink. Gavin will do these dishes. Then head up to your rooms. No computer, no video games, no television. Lights out at 8."

_- x -_

Letty stared at the clock and sighed impatiently. Chris was supposed to call a couple hours ago and she was now getting antsy. Picking up her cell phone, she dialed his number and put the phone on speaker, knowing the boys were already asleep.

"Hello?" She sighed when she heard his voice. At least she knew everything was okay. "Hello?" He questioned again and she noticed the aggravation in his voice.

"Chris, it's me." She whispered, and then frowned when she heard him sigh. "You said you'd call a while ago, and I was getting a little worried. Everything okay?"

"Yes, Letty, I'm just in a meeting." Letty glanced at the clock on the bedside table and thought about it.

"Still? It's almost ten o'clock there." She questioned. California was three hours behind New York; she knew that for a fact.

"Letty…" He sighed. She finally caught the dismissive tone in his voice. "Let me call you tomorrow. We need to talk." Letty's breath hitched in her chest and she nodded to herself. "Bye." Before she could say another word, she heard the dial tone. Frustrated and slightly angry, she dialed the number again and waited.

"Christopher King's phone." Letty looked down at her phone in her hand and raised a brow.

"Where's Chris?" She questioned.

"May I ask who's calling?" Letty had never heard the lady's voice before and she felt her anger rise a little, though she wasn't sure why.

"Letty, his wife."

"Oh, he's just taking a shower."

"Taking a shower?" She questioned. "I thought he was in a meeting."

"Oh," she whispered, "he will be. That's where we're headed when he gets out of the shower."

"Can I ask your name?" Letty questioned.

"Oh, I'm…" she stopped herself and made a humming noise, which Letty figured was her thinking of a name that sounded professional.

"Forget it." Letty flipped her phone closed and took a deep breath, letting it out heavily.

"Knock, knock." Letty looked up at the door to see Anthony. She looked at him with a small smile and he smiled back. "Bad timing?"

"Why aren't you in bed?" She questioned, glancing up at the clock again, "it's nearly one in the morning." He shrugged a little and she sat up, patting the bed beside her. He entered the room and slowly made his way over to her, taking a seat where she'd patted.

"Couldn't sleep." She nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, knowing she was a mess. "There was just a lot on my mind."

"Need somebody to talk to?" She questioned. He nodded a little and she smiled, leaning back into her pillows again. "Talk away, I'm all ears."

"Is everything okay with you and Chris?" Letty figured with him standing there when she hung up the phone, he'd heard the conversation. She nodded and forced a smile. "Because he seems to be gone a lot lately. I mean, more than usual. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you two."

"We're fine, sweetheart. Why?"

"Well… I know you and my dad divorced. I mean, I don't remember it, but… I know it was hard for you. If you and Chris got a divorce I think it would be bad for Patrick, Tyler and Kyle. But I think Gavin would finally be happy." Letty chuckled and hit Anthony upside the head playfully. "How come you never talk about my dad?"

"You never ask about him."

"Tell me about him." She looked at him and took a deep breath.

"What do you want to know about him, Anthony?" She was confused why he was bringing it up so randomly, but understood that by his age, he was just curious.

"What happened? Why did you two get divorced?" Letty bit her lip and looked at him, not really wanting to answer his question. Judging by his face, however, he wasn't going to retract the question.

"I met Chris and I just kind of fell for him, right on the spot." Anthony hung his head and Letty frowned. "Anthony, I'm always going to love your father, I just don't think that we were supposed to be together in the long run."

"But what if you were?"

"We weren't." Letty snapped quickly.

"Yeah, but what if you were?" He had the same pushiness as his mother and she smirked lightly at it, nodding. "You would never know because now you live across the country and you haven't talked to him since… Who knows when."

"Things are over between your father and me, trust that." Letty swallowed. "And as long as Chris and I are happy, we're not going to get a divorce." Anthony started to stand and she grabbed his wrist gently, pulling him back down. "I'm sorry that my temper got in the way of your education. I promise that I will have you back in school within a week, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever." He pulled away from her and exited the room quickly. Letty sighed and hit her head on the headboard.

"Damn."

_- x -_

**Please leave feedback. It always helps.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just because I didn't include this in my first chapter, mostly because I think it's obvious, but I don't own even the smallest sliver of The Fast and the Furious franchise... Though I wouldn't mind it. I won't even take full credit for the original characters as they are just names and attitudes. As always, thanks for the feedback, it encourages me a lot. Chapter three is already written, so it shouldn't be long before that is posted, but chapter four & five need to be entirely re-written. That may take some time. So, between work, school and spending time with my boyfriend, I'll do what I can.**

_- x -_

_I've been alone with you inside my mind_

_And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times_

_I sometimes see you pass outside my door_

_Hello? Is it me you're looking for?_

_I can see it in your eyes I can see it in your smile_

_You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide_

_Cause you know just what to say_

And you know just what to do

_And I want to tell you so much_

_I love you_

She looked up at him over her beer and swallowed hard, swallowing the lump on her throat and the beer. The way he smiled made her heart flutter. His chocolate eyes made her want to melt into him. Sighing, she set the beer down and reached for the chocolate on the counter in front of her. Chewing quietly, she didn't notice him or the guys approach.

"Looks like it's about that time of the month for somebody," he spoke almost rudely. She bit her tongue, knowing it was just because his friends were there. "Somebody remind Mia to get the tampons so I don't have to run out at three in the morning again." That was it.

"Oh, _fuck_ you Dominic." The way it left her mouth made it sound more like a command than an insult. Feeling the heat in her cheeks, she reached for her bottle of beer and swallowed hard.

"Aren't you a little young for that?" He questioned, reaching to take it from her hand.

"Uh, no," she said pulling it from his reach, "I'm twenty-one now, Dominic."

"Is that right?" He questioned, looking over his shoulder at Leon and Vince and she swallowed. "Well, it looks like we'll have to take you out, to celebrate you turning twenty-one." She nodded a little, not really giving an answer, just acknowledging what he said. Nodding one last time, he turned from her, leaving her alone with her chocolate.

"What does he know?" She muttered to herself, tossing another piece of chocolate into her mouth.

"Talking to yourself again?" A woman questioned, appearing from the office behind the counter. "I always thought you were a strange woman, Veronica." Vera swallowed the chocolate in her mouth and looked at the older woman, almost sneering. She hated her. And hated that she kept calling her Veronica. She hated that name.

"Sandy, why don't you go find a guy to fuck?" She questioned sourly. The blond smirked at the younger woman and nodded, turning from the counter, snatching a piece of chocolate before she did. Vera rolled her eyes and stood from the stool.

"Hey Vera," she turned her head toward the voice and smiled at Mia, who was grinning from ear to ear. "How are you today?" She questioned, taking a seat on the stool next to where she'd been sitting.

"I guess I can't complain." She muttered, taking a seat again on the stool she'd been sitting on before.

"Still in love with my brother?" Mia questioned, reaching for a piece of chocolate on the counter.

"No." Vera replied shortly, and then frowned at Mia's face. "Is it obvious?" She asked curiously.

"Very." With a sigh, Vera hung her head. "But don't worry, Dom's a man. He's completely ignorant. Sandy is the one who pointed it out to me. She wants you to keep your hands off her man."

"What?" Vera scoffed and shook her head. "As if Dom would even look at me as more than a friend. No, as more than a person who works for him. Besides, last I checked, Sandy wasn't exactly the faithful one."

"I just wish Dom would open his eyes and see that. All those years he cheated on Letty, he should be able to recognize the signs."

"Who's Letty?" Vera asked before Mia even realized she mentioned her.

"Dom's first wife."

"I didn't know Dom was married before Sandy." Vera thought about her next question. "Is there a reason why?"

"She just kind of up and left Dom. Spent the night with him, then when he woke up the next morning, she was gone. No note or anything. He got the divorce papers in the mail about a month later. Nobody has seen her since." Vera nodded quietly then looked over her shoulder when she heard a noise.

"And he would prefer it if you didn't talk about her again." Vera opened her mouth to speak. "Please?" His voice was quiet and almost sad. Vera nodded and for the first time, she actually felt bad for him. It was obvious she hurt him.

"Hey Dom?" Vera asked, looking away from him. Now or never, do it. "Let's go get a drink tonight, hm?" Dom raised a brow then glanced over at Mia, who just shrugged.

"Yeah, alright." Dom said with a nod, smiling a little. Mia watched as Vera bit her lip and watched Dom as he walked away.

"Oh, wow." Mia chuckled and Vera looked over at her. "You are crushing so hard." Vera rolled her eyes and Mia smirked. "Vera loves Dominic."

"Mia, shut up!" Vera hissed, shoving her shoulder roughly.

Once Mia started giggling, Vera felt herself lose it as well.

_- x -_

Vera sighed heavily and pushed away the book she'd just been staring at for the last half hour.

"Vera, what're you doing?" Vera craned her neck to see her little sister standing in the door leading from the kitchen. "Mom says you were in here talking to yourself earlier. Is that right?" Vera chuckled and moved from the floor to the couch, patting beside her.

"Tiff, if mom told you I jumped off a cliff, would you believe her?" Vera chuckled when her little sister shrugged her shoulders then took a seat beside her. "Why aren't you out with your friends?"

"I don't have friends, Vera." Vera eyed her sister and nodded a little. "Apparently they'd rather go make out than hang out with me anymore. I'm too _young_ for them because I don't have a boyfriend yet."

"Well, there's no rushing getting a boyfriend, Tiff. They're icky anyway."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I tell you, boys are icky, stay away from them as long as you can," Vera was trying her best not crack a smile, but she failed miserably. "Why do you want a boyfriend anyway?"

"So I have somebody. Somebody to make out with, like the rest of my friends." Vera let out a little chuckle and shook her head at her sister. "It's not funny."

"It is. A little." Tiff crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, making Vera chuckle even louder. "Tiff, you're twelve years old. You don't need a boyfriend. You can have boys that are friends, but you don't need somebody to make out with."

"There's this boy Tommy who's in my class. He's really cute." Vera nodded a little and thought.

"What about that friend of yours, what's his name?"

"Who? Danny?" Vera shrugged and smiled a little. "Ew, Vera. He's my friend."

"All you need are friends."

"Well, what about you?" Vera raised a brow and turned slightly to face her little sister. "You had Cecilia."

"You're right, I had Cecilia," Vera nodded and swallowed, "but the way it happened was an accident and I was too young to be doing what I was doing."

"You were twelve, weren't you?" Vera took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I was fourteen, Tiffany." Her sister nodded and looked at her. "You were five. You remember that?"

"I just know you have her." Vera nodded. "And Alexandra."

"Tiff, I _really _think you should get back upstairs to your homework." Vera snapped, quickly, quietly and stressing the urgency to drop the conversation. Tiff nodded and moved off the couch and ran up the stairs, leaving Vera alone.

_- x -_

"Having fun yet?" Vera asked Dom over her own beer. Dom shrugged his shoulders and she frowned. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be more exciting then."

"No, it's not you. I'm sorry, I'm just not really in the mood to do much I guess." He swallowed the remainder of his beer and she frowned more. "I found out that Sandy had been cheating on me since we were married. Grace may not even be my daughter." Vera suddenly felt bad for him.

"She's your daughter, Dom. You've raised her."

"I should have known. Everybody else knew. How come I didn't know?" He looked up into Vera's eyes and whimpered.

"Sometimes realizing those things is the hardest thing to do. It's hard to open your eyes and see what others see. Especially when you're crazy in love." Vera sighed softly to herself and Dom nodded, then stood quickly.

"Let's dance." Vera raised an eyebrow at Dom's outstretched hand and looked at him.

They'd both been trying to drink away memories and pain.

She couldn't remember taking his hand, or him leading her out to the crowded dance floor, but she did remember him gripping her waist and pulling her close. That was all she wanted to remember.

_- x -_

Vera groaned loudly, rolling onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. She didn't need to wake up fully, she already felt like shit. She'd had way too much to drink the previous night, and she'd remind herself to scream at Dom for it later. They shared stories of their past while doing numerous shots of random drinks they'd never tried, just to say they'd tried everything.

Vera jumped when she felt a movement beside her and looked around, then sat up.

_Dom._

She poked his shoulder and he swatted her hand in annoyance. She glanced down at herself and saw herself to be wearing only a bra. She glanced around the room and sighed when she saw their clothes lying in a pile in the corner, forgotten.

"_Shit_," She whimpered, pressing a hand to her forehead. "What the fuck did I do last night?" Surveying the room a little more she realized she was in her own room, which was a bad thing. She couldn't crawl out of the bed and disappear as if it hadn't happened. However, she'd still have to face him at work when he finally decided to come into work.

Scooting out of the bed, she tightened the blanket around her and quietly moved to her closet, getting clean clothes and heading straight for the bathroom. She didn't really care to shower, she just wanted to get out of the house, and so she dressed very quickly.

"Good afternoon," her mother said cheerfully from the stove. Vera turned her head and watched as her mom mixed something in a pot on the stove. "Glad to see you've finally gotten out of bed. We tried to get you up earlier, the door was locked." Vera looked over to the kitchen table where there were four girls sitting at the table. Vera picked out the oldest and stared at her and she nodded a little.

"I have to get to work." Vera ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath.

"Oh, stay for lunch. I made a big pot of macaroni and cheese, and by Alex's request, I put in bacon." Her mom urged.

"Dom's upstairs," Vera whispered to her mom, "I was trying to get out of the house quickly."

"You're going to face him sooner or later. Why not over lunch?"

"He just stayed the night. We got wasted, he dropped me off and I refused to let him drive any further." Vera hated lying to her mom, and she swore her mom always knew when she was lying, but she didn't press into it anymore.

"Sit." Vera sighed and took a seat between the oldest two girls. Vera turned to the oldest and smiled a little, and then lost the smile when she saw the scowl on her face.

"You owe me," she muttered under her breath. Vera nodded and took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Cassie." Vera whispered, keeping her voice low intentionally.

"Mommy?" Vera turned her head to another girl at the table and smiled a little. "Where were you last night? Grandma had to read me my bed time story because you weren't here."

"I'm sorry, baby. I had to work late." The girl nodded then looked at the door. Vera turned her head slowly, seeing Dom, still partially asleep and looked awful.

"Ms. Vincent." Dom said, quietly, nodding toward Vera's mom. He'd met her a time or two when she'd taken her car to Dom's garage to have it looked at. Dom turned to the table and smiled gently at the five pairs of bright blue eyes that stared back at him, catching Vera's particularly.

"Hello, Dominic. Vera mentioned you had spent the night. Would you like to stay for lunch? There's plenty of food for you as well."

"Thanks, but I should really get home. My sister's probably is wondering where I am." Thinking quietly to himself, Dom glanced back at Vera. "Want a ride to the garage?" Vera nodded once and stood slowly from the table, watching her mom as she did.

"Mom, I'm going to work. I'll be home early tonight." Vera leaned over and kissed the two youngest girls at the table on the cheek. "I'll come home and watch a movie with you two when I get home."

"Okay." They both said together, looking back at Vera's mom who was approaching with a bowl of food for each of them.

"I'll be home later, mom." Her mom nodded and Vera left the kitchen, grabbing Dom's arm as she did.

"What," Vera grabbed his arm harder and pulled him out of the house before he could finish the question. "Who were the girls at the table?" Vera raised a brow and shook her head.

"My sisters." Dom hadn't met her family before and he'd had no need to. "What happened last night, Dom, it was a mistake, okay? We won't talk about it anymore, okay?" Dom nodded a little and he couldn't think of anything to say. "Let's just go to work."

_- x -_

**Any feedback is nice. -B.**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Sorry about the delay guys. I had this chapter already written, but life got in the way of posting it. The semester is almost over for school and I don't plan on taking any classes next semester, so that may free up some time that I can spend working on this story. _**

_- x -_

Letty glanced up from the cup of cold coffee in front of her to see her stepson enter the kitchen. No matter what hour of the early morning he seemed to go to bed, he always seemed to be the first one to enter the kitchen after her. Letty listened to him, still staring at her coffee, as he quietly poured himself a glass of milk and looked around for something to eat.

"Good morning?" He questioned, curious why she hadn't said it to him already, like she usually did. She waved him off and he frowned a little, not sure of why she wasn't up to her usual self. "Are you making anything for breakfast, or should I have cereal."

"Fix your own damn breakfast." She muttered, not even looking up from her coffee. Gavin turned toward her and noticed several things immediately. One, she was drinking, or at least had made coffee and it was sitting in front of her, _coffee_, which she'd never drunk before. Two, there were several empty glass bottles of what should've been filled with amber colored alcohol. And three, her wedding band was gone and she was now absent-mindedly playing with the skin it once covered.

"Letty?" He questioned.

"What the fuck do you want, Gavin?" She questioned, looking up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks tear-stained.

"What's wrong?" He questioned sincerely, stepping toward her.

"Oh," she chuckled rudely, "now you suddenly care. You never cared before, Gavin. Why do you care now?"

"Did something happen last night? With my dad?" Gavin took another step closer and examined her more carefully. "Where is he?"

"Who cares?" She muttered. Gavin now figured she was drunk and had made the coffee to help her sober up a bit, but hadn't gotten around to drinking any coffee "He doesn't care about you, why would you care about him?"

"What do you mean?" He questioned, now about a foot away from the table where she was sitting. He noticed the dark marks on her arms.

"I'll bet you'll be happy to hear your father and I are getting a divorce. You two are moving back in with your mother." Gavin's heart dropped and he watched her bow her head. He'd never seen her hurting like this before. "Because one day after ten years he decides he's not happy with me anymore."

"What if I don't want to?" He questioned, taking a seat across from her. "What if I want to stay with you?"

"Excuse me." Letty scoffed, looking up at him. "You've got to be kidding me." A pause. "You don't care, Gavin. You don't respect me; you don't talk to me in any manner you should be talking to your stepmother, or any person for that matter. Why would you not want to go with your father?"

"I don't want to live with my mom." He whispered. She looked up at him and he was frowning, heavily, and his eyes were glossy. "Whenever my dad took me to visit, she'd always scream at me for doing things different than what she wanted, doing things the way I did them here. She'd always hit me. You yelled at me too, but you never hit me." Gavin leaned in closer, "You're the only one who cared when I got expelled from school."

"That's because I cared about you, Gavin. I cared what happened to you. I really wanted to see you graduate. I really wanted to see you go to college and get a good job. But you fucked that all up when you decided you wanted to be a little arrogant punk and skip classes and not do homework, all because you wanted people to think you were cool. Look at where that got you: expelled."

Gavin opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it quickly before anything could escape. He nodded and stood quietly from the table, exiting the kitchen. Letty bit her lip and slammed her head down on the table. She really should go upstairs and try and sleep for a few hours and then worry about packing.

Christopher had arrived home earlier that week from his business trip. Letty had taken the kids out, during the time they should've been in school, to an amusement park because they had all behaved very well, even Gavin. When they arrived home, all the fun of the day was washed away when Letty found that Chris was home from his trip early. They'd fought, and then made up.

They'd fought the entire week.

Until last night. By that time, Letty had been tired of the fighting, of the make-up sex, still knowing they'd be fighting again in a matter of hours. That was no way to live their lives and it had to end. She was the one who asked for the divorce. He was the one who threw things and shoved Letty around, and had even smacked her out of anger. She knew he hadn't meant it, but at that point, she was tired of it all.

He confessed her that he'd been cheating on her for over a year now, with Gavin's mother, who he'd met up with at some bar in Denver. (What she was doing there, she didn't ask.) Chris had been running off on his supposed 'business trips' to see her. That was when Letty flung her wedding ring at him and told him to get out. And that was where he threw her against the refrigerator door, bruising her back on the handle and her arms with his hands.

Then he left. And she hadn't seen him since. But that was only a couple hours ago.

_- x -_

"Mom?" Anthony asked from behind his mom, poking her shoulder. She jumped up, wincing and turning toward him. Her fierce eyes softened when she saw him and she forced out a smile. She felt like she'd sobered a little, taking a nap at the kitchen table, however long it had been. "Are you awake?" He questioned, giving her a worried look. "You've been sleeping here for a while. I think maybe you should go up to bed."

"I'm fine." Letty stood slowly and staggered a little, and stopped herself on the counter behind the table. "Do you want something for breakfast?"

"Mom, it's four in the afternoon." Letty glanced over at the clock then back at Anthony, who gave another worried look. "Sit back down, mom." She started back toward the chair then stumbled forward, falling, hitting her head on the corner of the kitchen table before hitting the floor. "Mom!"

"What's going on?" Gavin asked entering the kitchen. He froze when he saw Letty lying on the floor, partially under the table. "What happened?" Gavin immediately found himself by her side, shaking her gently. "I think we should call an ambulance, her head is bleeding." Anthony nodded and ran for the phone.

"Gavin, did your dad come home yet?" She whispered. Gavin frowned sadly and shook his head slowly. She nodded and started shaking as she started crying again. Letty then muttered something under her breath, but Gavin couldn't quite catch it all, but still frowned. He'd still never seen her hurting so much.

"Anthony is calling an ambulance, okay? They'll be here soon." Gavin held her still as she started moving a little and she whimpered in pain. "Just stay still, they'll take you to the hospital and see what's wrong." Gavin looked down at her wrists and saw the bruises my clearly now. He bit his lip and looked back up at her face, she was still crying pretty steadily. "Are those from my dad?" They stared at each other for a minute and she blinked first, nodding slightly.

"They'll be here in five minutes." Anthony announced, entering the kitchen. "Who's going with her?" Anthony asked Gavin quietly. "I mean, so somebody can call whoever is at home and let them know what's going on."

"You go. She's your mom." Gavin whispered, standing up and turning toward Anthony. "I'll stay here."

In five minutes time, the ambulance had arrived and taken Letty away, leaving Gavin alone with the three younger boys, Patrick, Kyle and Tyler. He paced the floor nervously, awaiting the first call, which he knew would take a while, but couldn't settle himself down.

He was furious. Not only with his father, for leaving the marks on her, but with himself, for getting into trouble and thinking that nobody cared, when actually somebody did. Letty cared. And he now knew that she cared more than his own parents.

"Anthony's dad." Gavin muttered, taking one last glance at his half-brothers who were sitting on the couch watching cartoons, and then heading up the stairs to the master bedroom where his dad and step mom slept. He went straight for Letty's locked box, which was kept under her dresser and the key was found a few minutes later in her top dresser drawer. He opened the locked box and started going through the pictures and the letters, carefully picking an envelope with the most recent date on it, and stuffing it into his pocket.

Gavin moved to the phone on the nightstand and dialed a familiar number then pressed the phone to his ear.

"Holly, I need a big favor. I need you to watch my little brothers for a few days. I need to go to Los Angeles. Look, it's a long story and I don't have a whole lot of time to explain. Please? Thank you so much. I'll just bring them over now. I promise I'll call you when I get there and explain things."

_- x -_

"Mr. King?" A nurse asked from the door, looking around the empty waiting room.

"Toretto." Anthony whispered, standing slowly, giving a worried look.

"Your mother will be just fine, but it looks like she may be here for a while. Is there anybody else we can call?" The nurse gave him a small, friendly smile but Anthony shook his head. "What about your father?"

"My father lives in Los Angeles. I don't know where my step dad is. He wasn't home all day today." Anthony's voice was soft. He'd really been scared. If he lost his mom, he wouldn't know what he'd do. He knew that Chris hated him and if his mom died, Chris may not let him back in the house.

"Do you know what happened?"

"My step dad left her. Gavin said they got into a fight and he didn't know any details."

"Who's Gavin?"

"He's my step brother."

"Can I call him? Maybe he can join you here?"

"He's at home with our little brothers." The nurse nodded and took a deep breath.

"Well how about we go down and get something to eat?" The nurse asked, putting a hand on his shoulder cautiously. He nodded a little and they left down the hall together.

_- x -_

"_Where have you been, Chris?" Letty asked, tipping back the last of the bottle. She hiccupped and stood from the kitchen table, just to be pushed back down by Chris, who was now less than a foot away from her. "I just want to know where you've been, Chris."_

"_I went out with a few guys at work." He muttered, leaning in to kiss her neck softly. She could smell the alcohol on him, or was that her?_

"_Then why do you smell like cheap perfume?" She questioned roughly, leaning into the kitchen table. She was drunk. They were both drunk. If she'd been anything other than drunk then she'd have reacted to the slap Chris had just placed to her cheek. She didn't care. She barely felt it._

"_It's probably yours, Letty."_

"_I don't wear perfume, Christopher." He nodded and scowled at her._

"_Fine. Then I'll go ahead and tell you where I've been. I've been meeting up with Christine, Gavin's mom."_

"_How long?" Letty questioned, still not really caring much._

"_Almost a year now." Letty nodded._

"_Then I want a divorce."_

"_What?" He choked. He pulled her to her feet and backed her into the counter. She rolled her eyes and he glared hard. "What did you say, Letty?"_

"_I said I want a divorce." She whimpered this time when he smacked her again, leaning forward to caress her cheek. "Why wouldn't I? You're out fucking around with some whore." She straightened her back and he took a step away from her. He looked like a wounded animal, walking backward. She slipped her wedding ring off her finger then flung it at him, not caring anymore. He stepped closer now, grabbed her by her shoulders and shoved her into the refrigerator door. She winced and whimpered when the long metal handle dug into her backside._

"_You know what Letty? Fuck you." He slammed her back into the refrigerator again and disappeared from the kitchen. Letty stood there for a minute, still wincing in pain. She stumbled over to the kitchen table and put her head down and cried._

_- x -_

"So, tell me more about your mom, Anthony," the nurse insisted as she watched him eat his food.

"What about her?" He questioned, swallowing the food in his mouth, hard. "She's my mom."

"I'm just trying to get more information for her charts. It makes the doctor's job easier, the more information I know. How many brothers do you have?"

"Four. But Gavin is my step brother. Then there's Patrick, he's 10, and Tyler, who's 8, and Kyle is 6."

"How old are you?" Anthony looked up at her and stared.

"I'm thirteen." The nurse took a deep breath and stared back at him. "Wait a second, you look kinda familiar. What's your name?"

"I'm Lori." The nurse reached her hand across the table and Anthony shook her hand politely with a smile. He tried to think as hard as he could how he knew her, but he didn't know her name even. "Anthony, your mom is my big sister."

"That's why you look familiar." She nodded a little. "You look a lot like my mom. How come I've never met you?"

"Well, when your mother and father split up, she left with you and never came back to Los Angeles. I just happen to be in New York for med school. I just happened to be the nurse to look after your mom. The chances were pretty slim, I think." Anthony nodded and opened his mouth but closed it. "You look so much like your father."

"I know." He whispered, nodding. "My mom tells me a lot."

_- x -_

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